Dungeons & Defamation: Role-Playing Game Convention Libel Case Can Go Forward
Good thing Zak Smith had lawyer characters with 18 Tort Law Acumen.
Libel
Another Decision Against Sealing Records in Libel Cases
Litigating defamation claims "in secrecy to avoid any potential embarrassment to" their subjects "directly contradicts the presumptive right of public access to pleadings and judicial proceedings."
Criminal Libel Law, Partly Coming Back in Washington State in Harassment Order Cases
When a judge hearing a protection order petition thinks the defendant is engaged in "harassment," which can include two or more statements the judge thinks is libelous, the judge can effectively criminalize future libels of the plaintiff by the defendant.
>$10M Libel Verdicts: They're Not Just for Johnny Depp
But here the Iowa Supreme Court reduced the verdict to $3M, with an interesting analysis of the law of libel.
Not Libel or IIED to Accuse Ex-Son-in-Law of Trying to Turn His Daughter (Accuser's Granddaughter) Lesbian,
at least in text messages to the grandchildren.
$125K Libel Punitive Award Excessive When Jury Found No Compensatory Damages
The award was entered against entertainment executive Damon Anthony Dash, former business partner of Jay-Z; $650K in libel damages to another plaintiff, plus likely $25K of the $125K, remain.
Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit Over "Woman Accused of Defaming Dozens Online Is Arrested"
The case may get refiled, but it’s not looking promising.
Roy Moore Can Proceed with Libel Suit Over Allegation That He Had Solicited Sex at Mall from 14-Year-Old
Press accounts had said he “had been banned from the mall because he repeatedly badgered teen-age girls” and that he had told a 14-year-old girl at the mall “she looked pretty.” "But viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Moore, the court finds that telling viewers that Moore was banned from the mall for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old Santa’s Helper is more stinging than telling viewers that Moore complimented a 14-year-old girl on her appearance or telling them more generally that Moore was banned from the mall for soliciting young girls.”
Why Isn't Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Foreclosed by Depp's Loss in an English Libel Case?
It's chiefly because Virginia doesn't recognize nonmutual collateral estoppel, of course!
"Judge Dismisses Bogus Defamation Lawsuit Against Foxconn Critic"
The Institute for Justice, which represented the critic, so reports.
Tennessee Court Expresses Doubt About Whether Anti-Libel Injunctions Are Allowed Under Tennessee Law
The underlying lawsuit was brought by Mickell Lowery, a Commissioner for Shelby County (which contains Memphis)—and son of longtime Memphis City Councilman Myron Lowery, who had also briefly served as Mayor—over allegedly libelous statements during his election campaign.
Court Declines to Enter TRO Ordering Defendants to "Retract … Complaints … to Amazon"
The court so holds as a matter of the law of remedies, though I think such an order would generally be an unconstitutional prior restraint as well.
U.S. Senate Candidate Alan Grayson Loses Libel Lawsuit
Criticism of Grayson (who's now running in the 2022 Florida Senate primary) in his losing 2018 House campaign was based on "articles by independent, reputable sources," and there wasn't clear and convincing evidence that the defendants knew their statements were false or likely false (the so-called "actual malice" standard).
"May Be The Most Helpful Brief I've Ever Read,"
said Judge Vince Chhabria (N.D. Cal.) about this amicus brief from Paul Alan Levy (Public Citizen) and Phillip R. Malone of the Juelsgaard I/P and Innovation Clinic (at Stanford).
Linking Fired Women's Gymnastics Coach to Sex Abuser Larry Nassar Could Be "Libel by Implication"
So the Michigan Court of Appeals held Thursday, in a case brought by the former head women's gymnastics coach at Central Michigan University.
Libel Lawsuit Over Investigation of Alleged Slur at Polo Match Dismissed
The U.S. Polo Association investigation exonerated the plaintiff, but the plaintiff still sued the USPA for libel.
Sanctions Against Lawyer for Filing Unfounded Libel Lawsuit
Not even under an anti-SLAPP statute—rather, under a statute allowing sanctions for "frivolous conduct in filing civil claims."
Some More on Expert Witnesses in Libel Lawsuits
Former Congressman Alan Grayson, now running for the Senate in Florida, is producing some interesting caselaw.
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Allows Preliminary Injunction Against Repeating Material Found Likely Libelous,
cutting back on what seemed like a categorical prohibition on anti-libel injunctions from a 1978 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case.
Libel to Lay Out Facts About Law Clerk's Writings and Associations, and Say Clerk Is Thus Likely the Leaker?
Very likely no, if the clerk is domiciled in D.C. or Maryland (and pretty likely no if in Virginia), if the stated factual background is accurate.
Why Johnny Depp Is Suing Amber Heard in Virginia
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is taking advantage of the state's lax laws that make it easier to file frivolous lawsuits intended to quell speech.
